Internal combustion engine



Jah. 12, 1932. H, T, HERR 1,841,1 19

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Feb. 2l, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l l 5 y; r INVENTOR "g Herbert T Herr. BY 'l a" @Aww ATTORNEY Jan. H T, HERR 1,841,119

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Hngu/ar Tiave/ in Degrees.

Fumo. FnaJl. FIGJZ..

ITNE S INVENTOR Herbert T Herr:

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. l2, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HERBERTv T. HERR, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO W'ESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Application led February 21, 1930. Serial No. 430,395.

My invention relates to internal combusaion engines and particularly to internal comiustion engines of the Diesel or compressiongnition type and still moreparticularly to uigines of the two-cycle type and it has for ln object to provide an engine of the charac- :er'designated which shall operate with im- )roved reliability and economy, which shall lave a very compact cylinder arrangement Lnd which shall be capable of developing greater power consistent with the space occu- )iddthan engines of the types heretofore prou e It has for a further object to provide an ngine of the foregoing character which shall e arranged to admit the fuel and air sep- ,rately, which shall embodyimproved means tor scavenging and supercharging the cylinlers and which shall be so arranged as to utiize the working pistons to periodically close nd open the4 intake and exhaust ports in -rder that `the valve gear required in convenional engines may be dispensed with.

It has for still another object to provide an ngine ofthe foregoing character which shall Lave its cylinders arranged in pairs, the ylinders of each pair being disposed in side-A 'ly-sfifde relation and transversely ofthe crank It has for still another object to provide n engine of the foregoing character wherein he cylinders of each pair maybe disposed in ree communication with each other by means f a common combustion chamber, the intake ort or ports being embodied entirely in one ylinder of each pair and the exhaust port or 'orts in the remaining cylinder of each pair.

It has for still another object to provide n engine of the foregoing character wherein oth pistons of each pair of cylinders `connect 3 a common crank pin of a single crank shaft, he connecting rod being so arranged that the `iston associated with the cylinder embody- 1g the exhaust port leads, angularly, the iston of the cylinder embodying the intake port; whereby effective scavenging and supercharging of both cylinders may be effected.

It has for still another object to provide an engine of the foregoing character which shall embody an improved form of combustion chamber so arranged as to effect the high compression pressures required by the Diesel cycle of operation, which shallbe effective to create a highly turbulent condition of the fuel-air mixture in the combustion chamber and which, in addition, shall aiord free and unrestricted communication for the passage of exhaust gases as well as the scavenging and supercharging air from the cylinder embodying the intake ports to the cylinder embodying the exhaust ports.

' These and other objects are effected by my invention, as will be apparent from the following description and claims, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. l is a transverse view, in sectional elevation, of one form of engine arranged in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken on the line II--II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial, longitudinal sectional view taken on the line III- III of Fig. l;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are plan views, in sections, taken on the lines IV-IV, V-V and VI-VI of Fig. 1, respectively;

Fig. 7 is a harmonic valve diagram of the engine Fig. 8 is a crank diagram of the engine;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the engine pistons; and,

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic views showing the relative position of the pistons at different points in cach cycle of revolution of the engine.

It is well known that the two-cycle type of engine is capable of developingh for a given piston displacement, almost twlcethe power of the generally employed four-cycle type of engine. However, the use of twocycle engines operating upon the Otto cycle is relatively little compared with the fourcycle typ-e because of the lower efliciency of the two-cycle type. The lowered efficiency results from the periodic loss of fuel mixture through the exhaust port due to the necessity of utilizing fuel mixture to scavenge and supercharge the cylinders. This economy limitations is not present in engines ofthe two-cycle type which operate upon the Diesel principle inasmuch as, in engines of this type, the fuel may be admitted separately to the cylinders and at a different time from the scavenging and supercharging air.

The most desirable type of two-cycle Diesel engine is the opposed piston type wherein the fuel is admitted at a central portion of the cylinder, the intake ports are located in one end portion of the cylinder and the exhaust ports in the opposite end portion of the cylinder. With an engine of this character, one piston may be utilized to cover and uncover the intake ports and the other piston to cover and uncover the exhaust'ports, thus' entirely dispensing with the requirement of complicated valve gear mechanism. Such engines may be thoroughly scavenged and supercharged inasmuch as the air iiows longitudinally through the cylinder from the intake portat one end of the cylinder to the exhaust vport at the other end of the cyl* inder. By having the exhaust port controlling piston lead, angularly, the Aintake port controlling piston, a very eifective supercharging effect is obtained, and, the fuel being admitted at the central portion of the cylinder at a time when the exhaust port is covered by its associated piston, no fuel can escape through the exhaust port. Hence, engines of the opposed piston, Diesel typeoperate with very high eiiiciency upon the twocycle principle.

Because of the length of the cylinders, engines of the opposed piston type are not adapted for such automotive work as the propulsion of trucks, busses, motor boats, etc., because ofthe space limitations imposed. have, therefore, conceived of a form of engine which embodies all of the advantages of the opposed piston type of' Diesel engine and which is applicable to installations where an engine of the opposed piston type is not.

In accordance with my invention, I provide an engine which is composed of pairs of cylinders, the cylinders of each pair being disposed in side-by-side relation and extendf ing in a direction transversely of the crank shaft. The cylinders of each pair communicate with each other through a common coinbustionchamber. The intake ports are all embodied in one cylinder of each pair and the exhaust ports in the remaining cylinder. the piston in the first cylinder being arranged to cove-r and uncover the intake ports and the piston in the remaining cylinder being arranged to cover and uncover the exhaust ports. The pistons of eagh pair of cylinderf are preferably connected to a common crank pin of the crank shaft, the connecting roc being so formed that the exhaust port conI trolling piston leads, angularly, the intakf port controlling piston. In this way, al valve lgears are dispensed with and the scav` enging fluid sweeps through the cylinder con taining the intake ports, and thence passe Aby way of the combustion chamber into thi cylinder containing the exhaust ports. A: the exhaust ports are closed before the in take ports, the scavenging iuid serves t4 supercharge both cylinders. p

As stated' heretofore, it is highly desirabli that the fuel be admitted to the Cylinder sep arately from the scavenging and supercharg ing iiuid and, hence, my improved engine vop erates upon the Diesel cycle. In engines op era'ting upon the Diesel cycle, a very higl compression pressure is required in order ti eii'ect ignition. Forv example, a compressioi ratio of 16 to 1 may be required. I have, there fore, embodied in my engine an improved typ of combustion chamber which is capable ol producing, in an engine of the character pro posed, the required compression pressure and at the same time, aording free and unie stricted circulation of the scavenging ani supercharging fluid from the cylinder hav ing the intake ports, to the cylinder havin; the exhaust ports. Furthermore, in order t obtain good combustion efHciency,I have s` formed my combustion chamber as to pro duce a very high degree of turbulence there in. For a detailed description of the con struction of my improvedV form lof engin and of the combustion chamber port-ion there of, reference will now be made to the accom panying drawings. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I show an en gine having a cylinder block 10 to which suitable crank case l1 is connected. Th cylinder block 10 embodies oneor more pair 12 of cylinders 13 and14 disposed in longitu dinal or axial alignment, the cylinders 13 ani 14 of each pair being disposed in side-b v-sid relation and being preferably arranged in common plane extending transversely of th engine axis. A central division wall 15 ex tends between the cylinders 13 and 14 of eacl pair. It is obvious that the engine may h composed of any required number of pair of cylinders to meet the power requirement imposed. The cylinders 13 and 14 of eac pair are preferably of equal bore and hav a common cylinder head 16. Iii thepreser embodiment., I show a cylinder head l formed as aI part of the cylinder block, but i will be obvious that, if desired, the cylinde head may be so formed as to be readily de tachable from the cylinder block. Suitabl cooling jacket spaces 17 are embodied in th cylinder block, which jacket spaces exten cated in the cylinder 13 of each pair are exhaust ports 19 which also extend circumferentially-about the cylinder. Disposed within the cylinders, respectively, are pistons 21 Aand 22, the piston 21 being arranged to cover and uncover the inlet ports 18 and the piston 22 being arranged to cover and uncover the exhaust ports 19. Preferably, the exhaust ports 19 are longer than the inlet ports 18 in order to facilitate liberation of the burnt gas.

Extending longitudinally through the crank case 11 is a suitable crank shaft 23 having the required number of crank pins 24. The arrangement is preferably such that the pistons of both cylinders of each pair connect to a common crank pin. In order to effect such a connection, I provide, for the piston 22, a master connecting rod 25 provided with a crank pin bearing 26 journaled upon the crank pin 24. A detachable bearing cap 2i' is embodied in the bearing 26. The piston 21 is provided with a secondary piston rod 28 which is a-rticulately connected to the master rod 25, as by a pin at 29.- By connecting the *secondary piston connecting rod to the master rod 25 as shown, the exhaust port controlling piston 22 is made to lead, angularly, the inlet port controlling piston 21 when the engine is rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow. The advantages of providing such a lead feature will be apparent from the subsequent description.

The locus of travel of the pin 29 is graphically indicated by the ellipse 31. Preferably, the master connecting rod 25..and the sec'ondary connectingerod 28 are sof-.arranged that their axes remain substantially paralleljwith respect to each other throughout the complete cycle of revolution and theirfaxes are also preferably so arranged as to be spaced approximately equal distancesfrom the axis of the crank pin in order that the moments of thelforces imposed upon the crank pin may be balanced against each other. Such an arrangement provides .a more rugged form of connecting rod structure of the character illustrated and at the same time tends to provide a smoother running engine. The rcspective rods 25 and 28 are connected to their associated pistons by means of suitable wrist pins 32 arranged in a manner well understood in the art.v

The cylinder head 16 of each pair of cylinders ipreferably has converging boundary walls, thereby materially reducing the displacement of the cylinder head. A preferred form of construction is illustrated in the drawings wherein the side walls 33 and 34 of each combustion chamber converge toward each other and are joined in a central, circular apex 35. The side walls 33 and 34 are joined at their ends by semi-cylindrical end walls 36 and 37 which also converge toward each other. The form of the cylinder head will be especially apparent from Figs. 4 to 6 from which it is evident that the transverse area of the cylinder head is relatively small near the top and increases in area inthe direction of the cylinders.

The pistons 21 and 22 are preferably of identical form and, as shown in Fig. 9, eml body a skirt portion 38, a ring belt portion 39 anda head portion 40. Each of the head portions 40 are truncated on their outermost sides in order to conform with the contour of the adjacent surfaces of the cylinder head, The inner and adjacent sides 41 of the pistons are preferably a surface of revolution Continued from the skirt and ring belt portions of the piston. Hence, when the pistons are intheir uppermost positions, such as illustrated in Fig. 1, they define an intervening high compression space 42 having, as

lshown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, opposed convergmg-dii-'erging end walls and, as shown in the right hand cylinder of Fig. 2, side and bottom walls disposed in triangular formation.

In accordance with my invention, I so form the )istons that their truncated portions 41 conform with the inner contour of the adjacent surfaces of the combustion chamber so that, when the pistons are at the ends of their compression strokes, that is, the positions illustrated in Fig. 1, a minimum amount of clearance intervenes between the pistons and the cylinder head. As will be further apparent from Jthe right hand cylinder shown in Fig. 2, the cylinder head is so arranged that, when the pistons are in a lowered position, the chamber 42 provides a free and uni interrupted opening for the passage of vgaseous media through the cylinder head from the cylinder 14 to the cylinder'13. As my engine operates upon the Diesel cycle, a suitable fuel injection nozzle 43 is arranged to discharge fuel into the high compression chamber 42. l

From the foregoing description, the operation of n1 1 engine will be apparent. Assuming that the engine is operating and that a power stroke has just taken place, both pistons 21 and 22 move downwardly until the exhaust portl'19 is uncovered by the piston 22. As shown particularlyA in Fig. 10, the eX- haust port controlling piston 22 leads, angularly, the inlet port controlling piston 21 so that the exhaust port 19 is uncovered while the inlet por'; 18 remains covered. At such times, the exhaust gases from both cylinders are liberated through the yexhaust port 19, the gases from the cylinder 14 passing freely through the high compression space or passageway 42 of lthe cylinder' head. As the pistons continue to move downwardly, they is supplied by any suitable means, such as a. blower 44, through the inlet port 18. This air sweeps through the cylinder 14 and thencev into the cylinder 13 by way of the passageway 42 and scavenges both cylinders of the burnt gases, through the outlet port 19. This scavenging process continues until such time as the pistons start upwardly upon their return strokes, whereupon, as shown in Fig. 12, the exhaust port 19 is first covered by the pis;on 22, the inlet port 18 remaining open. As a result, the blower 44 continues to supply air to both the cylinders 13 and 14 and, since the exhaust port 19 is closed at such times, both cylinders are effectively supercharged. The pistons then continue to move upwardly toward the cylinder head, the inle; port 18 is closed and compression of the air in both cylinders as well as in the cylinder head is effected.

As pointed out heretofore, the pistons make a very close clearance with vthe cylinder head so that substantially all of the compressed air is segregated in the high pressure space 42. As the pistons approach the ends of their compression strokes, liquid fuel at the required pressure isadmitted through the in]ection nozzle 43 and ignition is effected in accordance with the well known principles of the Diesel cycle. As is well understood in the art, fuel injection continues for a time after the pistons start moving downwardly upon their power or working strokes at the ends of which they again reach the positions shown in Fig. 10, whereupon the cycle of operation is repeated.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a form of connecting rod structure which provides for the exhaust port controlling piston leading, angularly,

the inlet portcontrolling piston. This will` be apparentfrom the harmonic valve diagram shown in Fig. 7 as well as fromthe crank diagram shown in Fig. 8. As arranged inthe present embodiment, the exhaust port is uncovered by the exhaust port controlling piston when the crank shaft has moved 111 degrees past top dead center while the inlet port controlling piston is not opened before the crank shaft reaches 144 degrees past dead center. Hence, during each revolution of t-he crank shaft (the engine operating upon the two-cycle principle), the exhaust of the gaseous media from both cylinders takes place during 33l degrees of the crank angle. From a position 144 degrees past top dead center until a position 228 degrees vpast top dead center is reached, the scavenging process takes place during vwhich time the blower y44 circulates air through both cylinders as well as their common cylinder head. lVhen the crank shaft reaches a position 228 degrees past top dead center, the exhaust port is closed. However, the inlet port remains open until the crank shaft reaches a position 236 degrees past top dead center, thereby providing for i mechanical or extraneous valve gear being 1 required. It will be further apparent that the fuel is admitted separat-ely from the air and that,`at times when the fuel is being' admitted, the exhaust port is closed so that no fuel escapes with the exhaust gases. Hence, 1

good economy is assured. Thile the present connecting rod mechanism is arranged for clockwise direction of rotation of the engine, it is apparent that the connecting rod mechanism may readily be assembled in the reverse position should it be desired to construct an engine operating in a direction opposite to that illustratedfhe intake and exhaust ports being, of course, interchanged.

As required by the Diesel cycle of operation, a veryY high compression ratio is desirable. For example, I find that a compression ratio of 16to 1 affords very good results with an engine of the character illustrated. I have therefore provided a form of cylinder head as well as an arrangement of pistons which is capable of effecting such a high compression ratio in that the pistons and the cylinder head are so formed that the major portion of the compressed air is segregated in the intervening high compression space 4Q, into which space the fuel is solidly injected in timed relation with the rotation of the crank shaft. Such a form of combustion chamber makes it possible to operate an engine of the character illustrated in accordance with the Diesel principle. Furthermore, it provides for good combustion eiiciency in that the forcing of the air into the intermediate high compression chamber creates a very high degree of turbulence and, hence, the air andthe fuel are thoroughly commingled. In addition, the combustion chamber is so formed that. when the pistons are in their lower positions, a. free andiminterrupted passage for the gaseous media from the cylinder 14y to the cylinderl is afordechthe combustion chamber creating slight. resistance to the free passage of the gases. v

It will therefore be apparent that I have devised a form of engine which is extremely compact, dispenses with the requirement for the conventional valve gear and ignition system, operates eliiciently upon the two-cycle rinciple and utilizes relatively cheap fuel .s motive fluid. Such a form of engine unl oubtedly has a very wide field of applicaion.

While I have shown my invention in but ne form, it will be obvious to those skilled n the art that .it is not so limited, but is suseptible of various changes and modifications, vithout departing from the spirit thereof, `nd I desire, therefore, that only such limitaions shall be placed thereupon as are imosed by the prior art or as are specifically et forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is l. In a two-cycle Diesel engine, the combilation of a cylinder structure embodying irst and second cylinders disposed in sidey-side relation and a common cylinder head ifording communication between the cyliners, an intake port provided in the side wall `f the first cylinder and an exhaust port pro- 'ided in the side wall of the second cylinder, piston in each of the cylinders and ara-nged to cover .and uncover, respectively, he inlet and exhaust ports, a crank shaft, ieans for operatively connecting both pisons to said crank shaft and providing forv he exhaust port controlling piston leading he intake port controlling piston, whereby cavenging and supercharging of both cyladers is effected, said head structure having emi-frusto-conical' end walls substantially oaxial with the respective cylinders and.

oined by side walls which converge toward ach other and are joined at their apex and ach of said pistons 'having head portions he adjacent surfaces of which conform With he bore of the cylinders and define, when the 'istons are'near the ends of their compres-I ion strokes, an intervening high compresion space, and the remaining portions of aid piston head portions being truncated so s to define close clearances with the end falls of the combustion chamber, and means or injecting liquid fuel into said interven- 1g high compression space.

2. In a two-cycle Diesel engine, the combiation of a cylinder structure embodying rst and second cylinders disposedin sidey-side relation and a common cylinder head ffording communication between the cyliners, an intake port provided in the side Tall of the first cylinder and an exhaust ort provided in the side wall of the second ylinder, a piston in each of the cylinders ud arranged to cover and uncover, respecyvely, the inlet and exhaust ports, a crank iaft, means for operatively connecting both istons to said crank shaft and providing for 1e exhaust port cont-rolling piston leading 1e intake port controlling piston, whereby :avenging and supercharging of both cyliners is effected, said cylinder head having its de walls inclined toward each other and ruary, 1930.

Y HERBERT T. HERR.

ined at their apex and said pistons having 

